Harnessing the Power of Modern Integration Platforms

Businesses operate in a fast-paced digital world in today’s interconnected environment. Changes occur at a rapid rate, leading to organizations implementing disparate systems in an attempt to cope with the dynamic setting. These disparate systems result in silos that may negatively impact operations and productivity as well as the company’s ability to adapt to the changing business landscape. And that’s where modern integration platforms come in handy.

Modern integration platforms offer multiple capabilities, enabling you to connect disparate data sources, applications, systems, and services. This allows you to operate more efficiently and make data-driven decisions. But why do you need a modern integration platform? What are some key practices to consider when harnessing the power of modern integration platforms? And what are the benefits of utilizing consulting services to select and implement the right integration platform? Let’s find out.

Table of Contents

Why Use Modern Integration Platforms?

As modern businesses grow, they generate more data and implement new systems and processes. With time, the data, systems, and applications increase to a new level, becoming unmanageable. This impairs the company’s ability to function optimally. And that’s where a modern integration platform can save the day!

Modern integration platforms help you address various challenges related to the digitally evolving business landscape, including the following:

Data sprawl – which occurs when a business accumulates large volumes of data to a point where it doesn’t recognize the data it holds or what happens with the data.
Business fragmentation. This happens when mission-critical processes are not managed as an integrated system.
Legacy systems and technologies. These systems and technologies do not integrate seamlessly with the latest technologies, limiting your business’s adaptability.
Explosion of applications. This occurs when you have many applications that run independently, hindering their ability to work together to achieve a common goal.

These challenges can negatively impact your modernization efforts. However, harnessing the power of modern integration platforms enables you to address these challenges by breaking down silos and connecting multiple systems, giving a unified view of all processes, data, applications, and people.

Key Aspects to Consider When Harnessing the Power of Modern Integration Platforms

Here are some fundamental aspects to consider when harnessing the power of modern integration platforms:

1. Integration as a Strategic Initiative

Dealing with disparate systems can be challenging. It can hinder your company’s overall visibility and ability to achieve its full potential. Therefore, it’s crucial to recognize integration as a strategic priority within your organization.

Integration isn’t just a technical challenge. Instead, it is a business imperative to ensure seamless communication and information flow between multiple systems. Therefore, you should approach it from a strategic standpoint.

2. API-First Strategy

Connecting multiple systems is a significant challenge in system integration. Embracing an API-first strategy can help you harness the full potential of modern integration platforms. This strategy involves prioritizing APIs at the start of software development and positioning them as the software’s building blocks.

In an API-first strategy, APIs are built before coding other aspects of the application rather than looking at them as afterthoughts. This enables you to expose your services and systems as APIs, making them easily consumable by internal teams and external partners. As a result, it streamlines the integration process.

3. Cloud-Native Approach

Most legacy systems are not truly cloud-based, which makes them slower, less scalable, and difficult to integrate with cloud solutions. However, modern integration platforms are often cloud-native. This implies they leverage cloud technologies like microservices, containers, and serverless computing, enhancing scalability, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility.

4. Low-Code and No-Code Integration

Gone are the days when you had to code everything from scratch to integrate business processes and systems. Some modern integration platforms offer low-code and no-code development capabilities.

Such platforms empower non-technical teams to create integrations. This reduces the burden on IT departments, allowing them to focus on the complex and more critical integration aspects.

5. Data Governance and Quality

Data quality and governance are crucial when integrating multiple systems. Any decisions made from the data are as accurate as the data used. So, it’s crucial to implement robust data governance practices to ensure data quality and consistency across integrated systems.

Here are some practices to consider to ensure data quality:

Data validation
Mapping
Data transformation

In terms of data governance, implement role-based access control (RBAC) measures. This will ensure the team access only the necessary data required to perform their duties. Also, it will prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Why Utilize Consulting Services to Select and Implement the Right Integration Platform

There are many modern integration platforms, such as Boomi. These platforms vary in capabilities and application scenarios. This makes it difficult to choose and implement the right integration platform. And that’s where consulting services come into play.

Seeking expert views from a reputable digital consulting service provider, like Sage IT, which offers extensive Boomi consulting solutions, can help you choose the right integration platform. Here are the benefits of utilizing consulting services:

1. Experience

Consulting agencies often boast extensive expertise in integration strategies and technologies. They can offer best practices and insights that may not be readily available within your organization.

2. Objective Assessment

Consultants carefully assess your existing infrastructure and integration needs. They help you identify gaps, bottlenecks, and areas of improvement without biases that internal teams may have.

3. Customized Solutions

Every business is unique. So, what works in another organization may not work in yours. A consulting firm can recommend integration platforms and strategies tailored to your business requirements.

Consulting firms look deeper into your organization and assess various factors like the type of data you need to integrate, budget limitations, and existing systems, to mention a few. This enables it to recommend the right integration platform that perfectly suits your needs.

4. Vendor and Tool Selection

Consulting agencies can help you evaluate multiple integration platform vendors and tools in the market. They can assist with vendor selection by considering various factors such as cost, compliance, security, and alignment with your technology stack. This ensures you partner with the right vendor with the right tools to seamlessly integrate your systems.

Final Thoughts

Harnessing the power of modern integration platforms opens up your business to new opportunities. It allows you to integrate multiple systems, streamlining business operations and connecting data, people, and applications. However, utilizing consulting services can help you achieve more with modern integration platforms. Therefore, it is highly recommended to help you get the most value from your integrations.
Ready to explore the power of the Boomi integration platform? Sage IT offers extensive Boomi consulting services, from assessment to modernization, enabling you to redefine integration and shape your business’s future.

Integration Techniques of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM.